AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio man is accused of using proceeds obtained from selling drugs and a wire fraud scheme to buy a $325,000 home and a Tesla vehicle, prosecutors said Wednesday.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Nicholas R. Crawford, of Akron, was arrested Wednesday and indicted in federal court in Akron. He was indicted on 23 counts of money laundering, one count of wire fraud, one count of theft of government funds and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
According to the indictment, in June 2018 Crawford bought a home in Akron for $325,000 using funds from drug trafficking activities, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Prosecutors said that Crawford “initiated wire and electronic transfers” intending to conceal how he obtained the funds, according to the news release.
Crawford has not been charged with a drug-related crime, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
Prosecutors also alleged that Crawford defrauded the Small Business Administration in July 2020 by submitting a fraudulent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan application with fictitious information.
On his loan application for his entertainment business, OH10 Records LLC, Crawford inflated the amount of money the company made and falsely stated he had not been convicted of a felony in the previous five years, the Plain Dealer reported.
In 2018, Crawford pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular assault in Franklin County and was sentenced to two years of probation, according to the newspaper.
He received a $105,500 loan and used that money to buy a 2020 Tesla Model X vehicle for $118,274, according to the indictment.
The Plain Dealer reached out to Crawford’s attorney, Rodger Pelagalli, for comment. He has yet to respond, according to the newspaper.
Crawford is the father of Na’kia Crawford, who was fatally shot in June 2020, the newspaper reported, citing court records. Na’kia Crawford’s death made national headlines and drew condemnation from NBA star LeBron James and Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan.
The 18-year-old woman died when a gunman opened fire on her car as she drove her with her grandmother in Akron, the Plain Dealer reported. Adarus Black was arrested in February 2022 in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, the Beacon-Journal reported.
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